Medical Board of Queensland v DAP

The Medical Board of Queensland appealed a decision of the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal which had set aside the Board’s decision to cancel the registration of Dr David Andrew Peterkin, a medical practitioner. Dr Peterkin had previously had his registration suspended due to professional misconduct and was subsequently convicted of four counts of sexual offences against children under 16 years of age. The Tribunal had cancelled Dr Peterkin’s registration and ordered that he not be registered for a period of five years. The Board argued that the Tribunal had failed to adequately consider the nature of Dr Peterkin’s criminal offences and the impact they would have on public confidence in the medical profession.

The appeal centred on the adequacy of the Tribunal’s reasons for its decision to cancel Dr Peterkin’s registration and its order that he not be registered for five years. The Board argued that the Tribunal had not adequately considered the seriousness of Dr Peterkin’s criminal offences and the impact they would have on public confidence in the medical profession. The Board also argued that the Tribunal had not adequately considered the evidence of Dr Peterkin’s organic brain disorder and its impact on his ability to practise medicine safely. The appeal was allowed, and the orders of the Tribunal were set aside.

The court found that the Tribunal had failed to adequately consider the nature of Dr Peterkin’s criminal offences and the impact they would have on public confidence in the medical profession. The court found that the Tribunal had not adequately considered the evidence of Dr Peterkin’s organic brain disorder and its impact on his ability to practise medicine safely. The court found that the order of the Tribunal that Dr Peterkin not be registered for five years was excessive and disproportionate to the nature of Dr Peterkin’s criminal offences. The court found that the order of the Tribunal that Dr Peterkin never be registered as a medical practitioner by the Medical Board of Queensland was appropriate given the nature of his criminal offences and the impact they would have on public confidence in the medical profession.

The court ordered that the registration of Dr Peterkin be cancelled, that he never be registered as a medical practitioner by the Medical Board of Queensland, and that he pay the costs of the Board’s investigation of him, of the proceedings before the Tribunal, and of the appeal. The court limited the order for costs to the costs incurred by the Board during the investigation phase only.